Deep appreciation. That phrase summarizes my feelings toward the SVCUE community for the past two years I have served as Board President and nearly a decade that I have been on the SVCUE Board. During the time I’ve been on the board, we’ve seen significant changes, including growing membership numbers, a diversification of our board, increasing fiscal strength, and most recently, a shift toward more online offerings for SVCUE educators.
As I step down, I am excited to (re)introduce the SVCUE Board who will continue to lead our affiliate into 2021 and beyond. Let me start by sharing a huge congratulations to our Co-Presidents, Abby Almerido and Cristina Bustamante! Abby has served as Treasurer, helping to continue the fiscal strength of SVCUE that has allowed us to offer two rounds of mini-grants this year, as she will continue to serve in this role for the foreseeable future. Cristina has coordinated many of the SVCUE social events that we’ve held over the past year and a half, including our virtual game nights.
Our board is, in my opinion, the strongest it has been in years. This is not to discount the numerous past board members, who I’ve truly enjoyed working alongside in support of all of the educators across the counties of San Mateo and Santa Clara. Instead, it illuminates the thought and effort that the board has put into best supporting the community since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a forced switch to distance learning, which has continued for many, if not most, of our local schools, along with a discontinuation of in-person professional development opportunities.
With the support of presenters within and beyond SVCUE, we’ve held eight “PD in your PJs” sessions, where we’ve raised funds to donate over $400 to local organizations supporting educational equity and racial justice. Our Anti-Bias Anti-Racist (ABAR) Book Club recently read and processed Tiffany Jewell’s This Book is Anti-Racist this fall as a place “to provide learners resources and space to reflect on themselves, their educational practices, and the institutions that they are a part of.” The PD in your PJs series and the ABAR book club were created by our current SVCUE board members and are planned to continue into 2021, focusing on actions that each of us can take as educators to provide a quality and compassionate education for all learners.
This is not to say we don’t have room to grow, as we most definitely do. We have been fiscally responsible enough to have space to offer mini-grants, yet we have not been able to give away all the funds we’ve allocated at some points. We’ve grown more racially diverse as a board, yet have featured a majority of white educators as presenters in recent memory. The board continues to work on these issues and more, and surely those who join the board next year - I’d be remiss not to mention that nominations are open right now - will help us to live our beliefs in shaping an inclusive education system that works for all of our students and their families.
Since the time I’ve joined the board, our membership has grown significantly (thanks to the move toward free CUE membership for all), our board has grown more racially diverse, and we have become fiscally stronger as an organization.
Thank you sincerely,
